The Victors from District Twelve
by The Fairy Princess
Summary: What if Gale was chosen instead of Peeta? His name was in 42 times, it was a huge possibility. Katniss doesn't know what to do. She's struggling between fighting for her family's survival and for Gale's... but what if that meant her own demise? I know this is probably an overdone theme, but I just wanted to give it a go! Please review it if you do read it!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Katniss Everdeen stood on the stage and stared out into the crowd. _Which one of these boys will I be competing with? _

Effie Trinket put her hand into the pile of names, and much like she had when she pulled out the girls' name, she swivelled her hand around a couple of times before eventually deciding on one to take. She pulled it out, and held it in her hand with as much care as if she were holding a baby.

She cleared her throat before reading out the name. _Get on with it, Effie. I want to go and cry already._

"Gale Hawthorne," Effie read, with a precise and piercing voice.

_Oh no. Oh no. I can't fight against Gale! Gale… He's my best friend… And I need him to look after Prim when I'm gone…_

Prim was crying from the audience, just as loud as when Katniss volunteered. Everybody looked in shock. Even though they were in separate years in school, everybody knew how close she and Gale were.

Gale, however, was playing the perfect poker face, not showing any emotion, and sure as hell not giving the cameras anything to work with.

When he reached the stage, he merely looked agitated, and Katniss was doing her best not to weep in front of everyone.

_Gale… he could probably win, he's tough… He can look after Prim when he wins… But what if he doesn't? _

Katniss's thoughts weren't on her own demise, but on how Gale being picked could impact her family. _Who will get them food while we're away? _

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Effie's voice boomed, "your Tributes from District 12, Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne!"

Before she could see the audience's reaction, Katniss was pushed inside the building behind her and taken to a secluded room, away from Gale of course. The first people to come and visit her were her family.

When her mum was still half way through the door, she started ranting at her.

"You are not to zone out again like you did when dad died, understand?"

"Yes... But…"

"Prim will need you when I'm not here to look after her anymore. If you don't stay strong for Prim's sake, you'll both starve, and I can't allow that."

"I understand."

"You are not to take the Tesserae; the Capitol would just love that. You can sell milk from Prim's goat and Gale…" _Damn_. "Mrs Hawthorne can help out where possible."

She hugged Prim and then her mother. "Be strong for me."

The next person to come in was Mrs Hawthorne. She was the first to visit Gale and came in straight after. Katniss hugged her, and let out a few tears that she wouldn't let her mum or Prim see.

"How's Gale doing?" Katniss asked.

"He's holding up okay. I told him I'd come and see you afterwards. 'Tell Katniss you'll watch Prim and her mother for her.'"

"You will? You mean it?"

"If I have anything to say about it, they're not going to starve anytime soon."

"Thank you." Katniss said through tears. Gale's mother pulled her back into a hug. She stroked her hair.

"It's okay, Katniss. Everything is going to be fine."

_But how can she be so sure?_

The last person to visit Katniss was a complete surprise. She gasped when he walked in. _Him_? She didn't even know his name. She knew him though, from that one event almost five years ago. When he basically saved her family, and copped a beating for it.

"You." She breathed.

"I don't think we've ever been introduced… I'm Peeta."

"You- you're the one… you're the one that gave me the bread!"

"You needed it. You were starving. I could tell, even then. You know Katniss; I would never have been able to say this… if it wasn't for, well, recent events… But, I really like you. And if I have anything to say about it, your family isn't going to starve. My dad said he'd pitch in some food, and I could take them any leftover food, when we have some that is…"

Katniss took a second to take it all in. "You like me?" She asked with a small voice.

"Yes. Ever since I heard you sing, when we were five."

Katniss felt her face go red. _This is not the time, nor the place_. "I'm honoured, thank you, but-"

"Oh, it's okay, you don't have to think up some excuse. I think your current circumstance is excuse enough. I just needed you to know, before… well, before something happens. You'll be a great tribute. Just stay strong."

And before she had the chance to say anything, Peeta hugged her and walked out quickly. _As if this morning couldn't get any weirder_.

Katniss waited for her next visitor, but there was no one. The next person to come in was the Peacekeeper, ready to take her to the train, the train that would take her to her doom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Katniss was sitting on a couch in the dining cart, with Gale at the other end. They hadn't said a word to each other. They just kept giving each other stares.

Katniss wasn't going to cry in front of Gale. No, she would wait until she got to her own cart, and then she'd finally let out the tears that had been threatening since Prim's name was called.

Haymitch walked in, eventually. He sat down on the couch opposite them, while they looked expectantly, waiting for him to say something to put them at ease, or something inspiring, or just _something_. Instead, he just swirled his wine glass and looked back and forth between them.

Katniss spoke first. "So… aren't you supposed to give us advice?"

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I have some advice. Embrace the probability of your imminent deaths." He took a look at Gale out of the corner of his eye. "Except maybe this guy. So, how tall are you?"

"About six foot five."

Haymitch made a whistling noise. "You better watch out for this one, sweetie. He's taller than half the Careers."

The Careers were Tributes from Districts 1,2 and 4 and were trained their whole lives in the art of survival, so when they were 18 they could volunteer in the Hunger Games. A Career Tribute almost always won. Katniss knew Gale was good, but if she wanted him to win, he was going to have to be better than the Careers, and she didn't know if that was possible.

Gale finally spoke. "Katniss is wicked with a bow. She can shoot an animal right in the eye, every time."

"Yeah but I learnt everything I know from you and Dad. But mainly you." Katniss replied.

"Wait… so you two know each other. As in, more than just seeing each other in the village?" Haymitch asked.

"We've known each other two years," Katniss explained. "The coal mining accident that killed my dad also killed his," she gestured to him. "We met in the forest outside District Twelve a couple of years ago, and we've sort of been friends ever since."

Haymitch seemed stunned.

"So what do you think our strategy in the arena should be? Should we stick together, or go separate ways from the very beginning?" Gale questioned.

"You guys reckon that you're better together?" Katniss and Gale both nodded. "Well then I think that you should stay together from the beginning, and then when there are four or five tributes left, if you get that far, separate. That way there's more chance one of you will get out alive. Let's face it, if it came down to you two, would either of you two want to kill the other?"

"No," they both said together. It sounded like a good plan. Katniss piped up. "So do you think we should try and knock people out of the competition, or just hide until enough people are dead?"

"Do whatever is right in the scenario. If someone is coming at you with a knife, I think your best bet is to try and kill them, not run away."

They didn't talk for much longer. When Haymitch's drink was empty (and Katniss was surprised it lasted as long as it did), he left to go get some more alcohol.

_Great, he's full of help and knowledge as long as there's a drink in his hand. I doubt he'll remember us by morning._

Katniss left to go to her private train cart, and collapsed onto the bed in tears. Her whole life was collapsing around her. First, she almost lost her sister, so then she saved her sister with the knowledge that she would be safe while Katniss fought her battles for her. Now that Back-Up Plan that she thought was in place had gone too, and the only thing standing between her family's survival and their demise was whether she could get the audience to like her, and whether she could kill someone when it came down to it.

She held the pillow on top of her face to quieten any sobs, but Gale still must have heard, or somehow known, because he came in a bit later.

"Katniss…"

"Don't tell me everything is going to be fine. We both know it's not!"

"I wasn't going to say that. I was going to ask if you were okay."

"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy. Life's fine right now. How are you feeling?" She replied sarcastically. She waited for him to reply. He didn't. She looked up from under her covers and saw him studying her, with his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that…"

"It's okay; I can understand what's going on. I don't know what's going to happen to my family if something were to happen to me."

"If I manage to survive this, I'll make sure they have enough money and food so that they never starve. What the Victor earns is more than enough to support both our families." Katniss replied.

She sat up and they hugged. Gale's arms were warm and inviting, she felt safe inside them. She just wished it would be like this forever and they weren't going to have to kill each other.

"If it came down to it, I'd want you to win, not me," she told him.

"But Katniss… Prim loves you, look at what you did for her. I could never let you die when I know that the only reason you're there is so she wasn't."

The stayed up and talked for a little longer, about useless things, and eventually Katniss felt tired. It had been a long day, and she finally decided it was time to let her mind have a break. Besides, she had a big few weeks to come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The rest of the train ride to the Capitol was a blur for Katniss. They talked a bit more about survival strategies and how to get sponsors, but Haymitch didn't go into too much detail and said they would when they were at the Capitol, within the next day or so.

They arrived to a whole crowd of Capitol people, cheering and waving. Neither Katniss nor Gale felt much like going to look, but Haymitch convinced them as it may help their 'image'.

Gale and Katniss stood at the window, forced smiles onto their faces, and for the last stretch of the crowd, waved at everyone through the train window. Then they went through a tunnel and the train cart went dark. Katniss and Gale dropped their smiles immediately.

They were ushered up to the top floor –their level of the complex- and Effie Trinket started telling them about the day's events. "Both of you will be taken to our stylists, Cinna and Portia, and will be made pretty for tonight's Tribute Parade, where we get to show you off to any potential sponsors! Now get ready, we're going in ten minutes!"

When they got to the Stylists, Katniss and Gale were separated. Katniss was assigned to Cinna and Gale to Portia. However, Cinna's assistants said he wouldn't see her until she was at least 'decent'.

"What does that even mean?" Katniss asked.

"It means we take you back to Beauty Base Zero." All three said at once.

It turns out Beauty Base Zero involved a lot of scrubbing, waxing and washing. Any hair that was 'out of place' was waxed. Katniss' eyebrows were plucked and her hair cut shorter. Her skin was exfoliated many times, and some cream was added to take away all her scars. Her nails were cut short and perfectly manicured, and after a long while, filled with mindless chatter that Katniss mainly tuned out, she was deemed 'decent'. It turns out her Prep Team's names were Flavius, Octavia and Venia.

Eventually, Cinna showed up, and he shooed away the Prep Team. He seemed a lot nicer than she expected him to be.

"So tonight is the Tribute Parade, and usually each Tribute is dressed up as something from their district." Cinna started.

"Yes, ours is coal mining-" Katniss interrupted.

"Yeah, but I don't want to do that. It's my first year this year, so I've been looking at previous years, and they're pathetic. So I've been thinking. What do we use to heat up coal?"

"Fire," Katniss replied, almost instantly.

"Exactly," he agreed. "So, I had this idea. Portia and I coordinated. You and Gale will be wearing plain black outfits, but there's a bit of a twist. There's going to be flames coming off them. Don't worry!" He added when he saw Katniss' face. "They're artificial. They won't burn you or the clothing. I've been perfecting it ever since I found out I got given this position."

Katniss breathed a sigh of relief. With the Tributes having to be at the Parade in two hours, he decided it was time to get to work. He gave her the black outfit and she changed into it. He braided her hair and tucked it close to her head so it wouldn't get singed off. He got Octavia to paint her nails with tiny fires, and he sprinkled black powder onto her face, to look like ash. Smoky eyes, dark lipstick and some nice shoes later, she was told it was time to go.

She arrived at the parade to see Gale dressed in much the same way- but with less make-up. Just before they were about to go on, Cinna decided it was time to test the fire. Katniss sucked in a deep breath, and didn't release it until she was sure that she wasn't getting huge burn wounds.

She climbed onto the chariot, and Gale did too. They made eye contact, but then as it started moving, they focussed only on smiling and looking sponsor-worthy. Katniss was smiling, but not at anyone in particular, whereas Gale was going in the opposite direction, and waving at particular people.

Katniss could hear the crowd screaming and Caesar Flickerman's voice was coming from somewhere. "And District Twelve's Tributes, Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne!"

The crowd's cheer grew even louder. _They actually like us! _

Gale grabbed Katniss' hand. She gave his hand a small squeeze, and then they both lifted their joined hands in the air. "We came here as friends," Gale whispered, "and I'll be damned if we don't stay that way until the end."

When they finally reached their destination, President Snow stood up and gave a speech. Katniss faintly felt the fire go out on her back, but was too busy listening to Snow's speech. He concluded it with, "May the odds be ever in your favour."

Katniss mumbled "Yeah right," under her breath.

Then they were taken back out with the chariots, and Katniss did what she did when they came in, smiling at everyone.

She got back to their room an hour later, after they'd been de-costumed and all their make-up had been taken off.

"Tomorrow you start your training," Effie said before they went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Training required getting up early; and Katniss gorged herself on the provided food. _I can at least eat in luxury before I die_.

Gale was still asleep, and Effie and Haymitch couldn't wake him up. They didn't want to try and pull him out of bed, because it would probably end up being a disaster, so they said they'd give him five more minutes then they'd tip water over his head.

It wasn't needed in the end; the smell of food brought him down. He stuffed himself more so than Katniss did. They got into the training clothes provided, and Katniss put her hair into a braid. They went down to the training area, and while Effie assured them they were early, they were still the last ones there.

Everyone was staring at Katniss like she was meat. When they looked at Gale, their eyebrows raised a bit, but Katniss looked like easy pickings- one of the first to go in this competition. _I have to prove I won't be_.

The woman who ran the training camp stood up and was giving a speech that Katniss knew she must have given a lot. There were four necessary stations, that would have to be completed sometime within the next two weeks, but the rest were optional and there were many to suit all abilities. Katniss and Gale decided not to show their full abilities yet, as Haymitch had briefly told them this morning, and they would stick together this whole time.

"We may as well get the necessary ones over and done with," Gale suggested.

"Yeah but we may forget what we learnt," Katniss pointed out.

"Okay, why don't we do them twice? Once today, and then once on the last day of training next week. That way we can learn, refresh our brains, and still look like we know what we're doing."

"Sounds like a plan."

They went to all the stations, which took them the rest of the training day. _At least tomorrow we can do whatever we want._

When they got back to their housing, Katniss and Gale sat down and watched some videos about the Hunger Games already made. They watched the Reaping, and then the Tribute Parade.

Katniss could remember some of the Careers from training, but some of the other people she didn't quite remember. The red-haired girl from District Five reminded Katniss of a fox, and the little girl from District Eleven reminded her slightly of Prim. However, there was no one to volunteer for her.

She wondered how her family would be getting along at the moment, whether they're back how they were when their father died or if they were getting on with their lives. For their sakes, she hoped it was the latter.

Gale felt better being around Katniss, because he distrusted the Capitol so much. Being in the penthouse, they had access to the rooftop, and Katniss went up there with him that night. They couldn't sit on the edge, because there was something blocking the way. She couldn't see it, it was invisible, but it stung her hand when she touched it.

"It's a barrier," Gale told her.

"But why?"

"To prevent the Tributes from killing themselves."

"Oh," Katniss replied. It had seemed obvious the way he said it.

"I wouldn't want to kill myself; they'd take it out on our families."

"How do you know?" Katniss asked.

"That's just what they do," he mumbled.

_I don't even see why it matters where they kill us; we're going to die anyway. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Katniss and Gale made sure they were up even earlier the next morning; they didn't want to end up being the last ones there again.

They headed on down to the Training Centre, and they had planned out what they were going to do for the day: bow training, snares, the medical station and the station to do with recognising poisonous foods from edible ones. They thought that would take the whole day, and then when they were allowed to leave they could go back to the rooftop.

By the time the tributes were allowed to leave, Katniss and Gale were just finishing with their last station.

The rest of their training days went much the same, Katniss thought they were wrapping up earlier because they were going so fast. _No, no, slow down! I don't want to fight yet! _

Of course, time couldn't stop for her, so she begrudgingly went along with everything Gale did. They stuck to their plan, and redid the essential stations on the last day. Their training had benefitted them a lot, they now knew how to use a range of weapons and how to hunt and gather food for themselves. If either of them was to be hurt- which was a huge possibility- they could potentially help the other person. Although, none of it helped their confidence.

"One of us has to win," they'd keep saying to each other in training.

After all their training was complete, Haymitch was coaching them about the following day, when they'd show what they learned and be judged out of twelve for it.

_Seven is good, maybe an eight, I guess I'm good with a bow. That's my aim, an eight. _

"Don't be afraid to show off your full abilities now. There are no tributes watching."

"What should I show? They've already seen 23 tributes by the time I come on, and Katniss and I have similar abilities. I don't want one of us to be marked down because we're almost the same." Gale pointed out.

"So what are you good at that Katniss isn't? Are you good with other weapons?"

"With a knife I guess."

"Well then show them that."

The next day, Katniss was standing with Gale outside the training area, waiting to hear the words that would send her in.

Eventually, they came. "District Twelve- Katniss Everdeen."

Katniss entered. All of the Gamemakers were chatting over each other, they hadn't noticed Katniss enter. She cleared her throat but they didn't notice. "Katniss Everdeen, District Twelve," she told them, quite loudly. They all finally looked over to her.

She walked straight over to the bow and arrows. The bow was on the stand next to a bag of arrows, and on the wall was an outline of a person, with the innermost ring where the heart would be.

She'd gotten used to these new bows, but her hands were shaking so much that she missed her target on the wall.

_Calm down, Katniss, if you stuff this up you're practically dead._

And with that pep talk, Katniss tried again. She got the ring in the very middle, 'killing' the target. She looked up to see their reactions, hoping for smiles, but instead they'd all turned around to look at something behind them.

Upon closer inspection, she realised it was a whole pig with an apple in its mouth. Without hesitation or even fully realising what she was doing, Katniss looked for a break in the people, and shot an arrow into it.

It knocked the apple right out of the pig's mouth and both the apple and the arrow hit the back wall. Katniss' eyes widened, she hadn't even thought about it, and now the realisation of what she'd just done had hit. Everyone turned to Katniss with mixed expressions- anger, shock; some had tiny smiles on their faces.

_Might as well make them remember me_.

"Thank you for your consideration," Katniss announced before slamming the bow back down and storming out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"You did _what_!" Effie yelled.

"I told you, I shot an arrow at them then stormed off," Katniss replied, bemused.

"Wish I could have seen it. No wonder they looked annoyed when I went in." Gale added.

"Let's just hope they won't take it out on both of you. They have the power to make your lives-"

"Difficult? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they already have." Haymitch interrupted, entering the room.

Effie breathed deeply then left muttering under her breath. Haymitch turned to Katniss and smiled at her.

"Well done, sweetheart."

"Well, I try my best."

Gale turned on the TV, and they were doing some advertising for how great the Games will be this year.

"And don't forget, the Tributes' individual training scores will be announced tonight at 6, so make sure you're watching!"

It was already 5 pm, so Katniss and Gale just watched some more videos from their seemingly endless supply of Hunger Games propaganda. At 6, their television signal was interrupted with the Capitol symbol and then Caesar Flickerman appeared on the television, with paper in his hands.

"Today the Tributes each had their individual sessions to show the Gamemakers their skills, and they were rated out of 12 for it. The scores were as follows…"

Most of the Careers got between 8 and 10, one unlucky one got 7. The lowest score was 5 from the fox-like girl from District 5, and the little girl from 11 got a score of 7. Then it was District Twelve's turn.

"And now District Twelve. Katniss Everdeen, an eleven!" Everyone gasped. _Eleven?! How did I manage that? _

"Lastly, Gale Hawthorne, a ten!" Everyone cheered, for both of them.

Katniss and Gale hugged, patted each other on the back, and then helped themselves to some of Haymitch's alcohol supply. Not too much though, Effie told them strictly they had to be fresh for the next day, when they would have their interviews with Caesar.

Katniss went to bed feeling slightly lightheaded, but apart from that, pretty fine. She slept for what felt like ages, which was actually about 9 hours. Effie woke her up, to tell her that Haymitch wanted to see her and Gale about the interview.

When she finally got downstairs, Gale was already there and dressed.

"Now, you two need to have some characteristic to make the audience love you. For instance, you could be caring, cute, fierce, funny… Just something that will make the audience want to sponsor you. Sponsors mean the difference between life and death."

"So what should our characteristics be?" Katniss asked.

"Gale, I reckon you should be the fierce one."

"And me?"

"Well, you could be protective. Maybe timid... A flower waiting to blossom, if you will. The audience loved the whole fire thing at the parade, and I'm pretty sure Cinna has wanted to incorporate that into your outfit for tonight. They were calling you 'The Girl on Fire'. Maybe you could play with that a bit. I'd say be yourself, but that won't make people like you."

"Gee, thanks."

"No problem."

"Wait, how is Cinna incorporating flames into my outfit?"

"You'll have to see. Just remember, smile a lot, play everything to the audience, try to provoke sympathy… That should make people like you."

Gale and Katniss were then rushed out by Effie to the stylists.

Katniss had gained some scrapes in her few weeks of training, so she let the stylists work on her while she wondered how the hell she was going to get sponsors.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

When Katniss was ready, she felt ten times heavier. The amount of make-up on her made her skin feel terrible, but like a good little tribute, she didn't complain.

Cinna came in when she was completely finished, to see the final product.

"Perfect. You look beautiful, Girl On Fire."

"Haymitch said you incorporated the flames into my outfit, but how?"

"You're wearing them. When you're on stage, twirl for me. Then you'll see."

Gale looked wonderful too. They rode to the interviews together. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie, and looked the most formal she'd ever seen him. Way more formal than any of the Reapings.

The order for the interviews was the same as for every event, Districts One through Twelve, ladies first each time. Katniss had twenty-two interviews to sit through before she could go on stage.

She used that time to steady her breathing, calm herself, talk to Gale about what to say, and finally, stare into space while trying not to cry.

"You'll be fine. You can make them like you. You made me like you. And Haymitch. And Cinna." Gale pointed out.

"But that's different, I wasn't even trying."

"Well then be yourself, chat with Caesar like there isn't an audience, and like you're having a casual talk with me."

Suddenly, the boy in front of her was called for his interview. Thresh, she thought his name was.

She watched the monitor that showed the stage, and the little girl, Rue, was currently talking. She was 12, but in the outfit they gave her, she looked younger; too young. She looked too innocent to be killed by the bloodthirsty Capitol.

Then she left, and Thresh was on stage. At the same moment, Katniss was told she had to go wait closer to the stage.

"Good luck Katniss!" Gale called after her.

"You too…" She managed.

"When Caesar introduces you, don't walk on stage until the audience starts to applaud for you."

Thresh finished up his interview.

Caesar's voice was booming from in front of her.

"We were all touched, I think, when this girl was chosen for the Games, but we've seen her flourish and thrive since then. From District Twelve, it's Katniss Everdeen, the Girl On Fire!"

Katniss heard the audience applaud, and took that as her cue to enter. She took Caesar's hand and he walked her over to the chair, which she then sat down in, grinning to the audience.

"So tell me, Katniss, what was it like when you heard your sister's name called?"

Katniss' smile dropped as she remembered that day. "I… I guess I just panicked. I mean, her name was only in the draw once; I thought she was safe as could be… I lost my dad a few years ago, and I wasn't about to let my sister go too… So I did the only thing I knew could save her. I volunteered to go in her place."

The whole audience were smiling sadly and looked on the edge of their seats.

"Did you see your sister after you volunteered?"

"Yeah, her and my mother came to see me."

"And what did you tell them?"

"I told them I would try to win." Katniss replied.

"Now let's go a few days later. The Tribute's Parade. You and your counterpart made quite an entrance."

"I was just hoping the flames wouldn't burn me."

The audience laughed, and she tried to beam back at them. It only half-worked.

Katniss remembered what Cinna said. "I'm actually wearing my flames tonight."

"Are you? Show us!"

Katniss found Cinna in the audience, and he made a twirling motion with his finger. Katniss stood up, twirled around in circles, one, two, three times. She kept spinning and flames started appearing around her ankles, where the dress ended. She was as surprised as the audience, and the look of pure delight on her face was real, not faked.

She felt Caesar place his hand on her shoulder and took that as her cue to sit down. She was still feeling light-headed but Caesar was helping her a great deal.

"So Katniss, I don't think anyone was expecting your training score to be as high as it was."

"Trust me; I'm as surprised as you are."

The crowd laughed. _Maybe being myself can work; it has so far._

"How exactly does one obtain a score so high?"

"I don't think I'm allowed to tell you…" The nods from the various staff on the borders of the stage confirmed it, "but I can tell you it's probably never been done before."

"Well Katniss, it was a delight to talk to you. And I wish you the best luck when representing your district in this year's Hunger Games. Ladies and Gentlemen, Katniss Everdeen: The Girl on Fire!"

Katniss went to sit along the back with the other Tributes who had completed their interviews. She saw Gale enter, and she gave him a thumbs-up.

After they'd introduced Gale and he'd sat down, they started talking about life for Gale in District Twelve.

"So Gale, do you have any friends in the District?" Caesar asked.

"Yeah I have a few, but I have my main best friend that I do most things with. She's great."

Katniss blushed, but she realised the cameras wouldn't be on her, because the audience didn't know that she was his friend.

"Oh, it's a she? Any chance of um…?"

Gale laughed. "No, no romance. We're just friends."

"How do you know her?"

_Damn._

"We met…" _Come one Gale think of an excuse. _"Through our mothers a few years ago. Our fathers both got killed in the same mine explosion."

_Reasonable. _

"That's very sad to hear. Did you see her before you came here?"

"Yes. And I have every day since then."

A look of recognition flashed upon Caesar's face, and half the audience seemed to be catching on too.

Katniss could see from the monitors that her face was being shown on the screen, so she did her best to look how she thought she should.

"So you and Miss Everdeen are friends?"

"Yeah we are."

"Was it you who held back her sister when Katniss went up after volunteering?"

"Yeah it was. She would have done the same if I was volunteering for one of my siblings."

Katniss nodded, watching Gale from behind.

"It's a shame that that was how it panned out. However, I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing how you go in this year's Hunger Games, so thank you Gale. Gale Hawthorne everyone, from District Twelve!"

Gale walked over and stood next to Katniss. They held hands, just like they had at the Parade. As the curtains closed on them, they were smiling at each other.

_We did it! And the audience loved us! _


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"Katniss, wake up! C'mon, get _up_!" It was Gale, trying to wake Katniss ahead of her 'special day'.

She just moaned and rolled over. Gale did what Effie had been threatening to him the other day: he got a cup of cold water and tipped it over Katniss' head.

Katniss sprung to life and jumped on him, wrapping her hands around his neck.

"Woah, woah, Catnip, save it for the arena."

She let go and went to stuff herself full of food. _I'll be set for today food-wise, if I can't find food I won't be overly hungry_.

She and Gale got into the Hovercraft required at the required time, where she got micro-chipped and taken to under the Arena. There, she met with Cinna, who got her prepared with her gear for the Arena. _I didn't bring something from my District… _

There was no used getting fussed over it now, Katniss was sure Gale hadn't either. They had a few minutes before Katniss was to be taken up into the Arena; her stomach was fluttering and her heart beating ten times faster than usual.

"I'm not allowed to bet in this competition," Cinna said, "but if I could I'd bet on you."

Katniss steadied her breathing, repeating things she'd learnt in her few weeks lead up to this moment.

_Don't run for any of the stuff… Not even the bow… That will get you killed. Find water, find food and stick with Gale. _

_Stay hidden, only come out for food, water, and when you feel you need to separate. _

_If someone has a bleeding injury, create a tourniquet out of bandages and some sticks, which will cut off the circulation and stop the blood flow… _

_Nightlock look like regular blueberries, but be careful, as Nightlock will kill the eater within a minute of consumption…_

Suddenly, while all these thoughts were spinning, she heard an automated voice: 'Beginning ascent in 30 seconds.'

She looked to Cinna, with fear in her face. Cinna grabbed her, pulled her into a hug, patting her on the back, then finally let her go, gesturing to the tube at the edge of the room.

"Goodbye," she said, one last time.

"Only for now," he replied.

She entered the tube, trying her hardest not to shake. When it started moving, she started scanning around her to see the environment they put her in.

It looked like a clearing, with forest around it and a lake to the side of the Cornucopia. _That'll be too obvious, have to find water somewhere else…_

Scattered around the clearing were a whole assortment of goodies, bags full of food, weapons like knives, and her prized possession: a bow with a bag of arrows. "Why hello there" she muttered under her breath.

She looked around for Gale, and he was two pedestals away from her. He could see her eying the bows, and he shook his head.

For the next few seconds they communicated through stares.

_Why not? _

He gestured behind him and used his fingers to mime running.

She tilted her head to the bow with a _Come on _face.

He shook his head again, and she finally agreed.

Then, the counting began. If she jumped off the pedestal before the 60 seconds was up, she would be blown up. She knew that because one year, a girl brought a small ball as the memento from her District, and she was playing with it and dropped it. There was barely anything left of her to send back to her family.

Katniss stayed firmly where she was, deciding whether to listen to Gale and Haymitch's advice, or go for her coveted bow. _If I go with Gale, we can avoid the bloodbath that will unfold, but we'll be weapon-less. If I go for the bow, I just may be able to get it, and it is my strongest weapon… _With much deliberation, she decided the bow.

The counter was now almost finished. Katniss' heart was beating so fast she felt like it would jump out of her chest.

"3…" Katniss got a firm foothold so she could easily leap off the pedestal.

"2…" She took a deep breath and surveyed the arena quickly.

"1…" Everyone sprang off their steps.

Katniss saw Gale running to the forest, and other kids trying to get some of the food. People were being slaughtered everywhere, but no one had grabbed her bow. She charged forward as fast as possible, aiming for the sleek, silver weapon she so desperately desired. A Career Girl appeared in front of Katniss with a knife. Katniss slowed her pace down.

"Katniss!" Gale yelled from behind her.

But Katniss wasn't listening. There was a knife hurtling at her face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

The knife was getting closer and closer to her face; Katniss was running out of time to dodge it. She stood frozen. She'd already accepted her death. She had known she'd die in this competition, but she didn't think she'd go this quickly.

Katniss felt something hit her, but it wasn't the knife. It was Gale, and they were falling to the ground, him on top of her. They hit the ground with a heavy thud, and pain shot up her arm. Gale jumped up straight away, and saw the Careers headed their way. He helped her up. "Go, run!"

They both ran as fast as they could, and Katniss spotted a lone bag at the edge of the clearing. Either no one had noticed it or they had abandoned it. Despite almost getting killed, Katniss was determined to get _something _to start the game with. She aimed herself so she wouldn't have to stop, just stick her arm out and she'd pick up the bag.

They were about three steps from the bag when something flicked past her head. _An arrow_? She and Gale quickened their pace, but Katniss' momentum still allowed her to get the bag before she started slowing down when the arrow whizzed past.

They kept running, running, until both were almost out of breath. Katniss badly needed water, she was panting and her legs felt like they were about to give out, but she kept running.

No more arrows came their way, and after a while, it seemed like the Careers had stopped chasing them.

They slowed down, and eventually stopped. They couldn't see any water to drink, but they decided to check the contents of the bag first.

Katniss looked, pulling out each item and handing it to Gale before getting the next one.

"Coil," Katniss stated.

"Great for snares."

"Matches."

"Starting fires."

"A canteen…" Katniss checked, it was completely empty.

"Helpful if it was full."

"That would be too easy. Uh, what's this?"

"It's iodine, you put it in the water and it's safe to drink."

"I think that's our best friend at the moment," Katniss pointed out.

"Yeah, if we had some water to make safe."

"Bandages, and lastly… a knife."

"Great! We actually have a weapon, a way to find food, a way to cook food, a way to find safe drinking water and bandages we can use if we get injured."

Gale was rubbing his arm. Katniss figured it was sub-consciously, but there must have been a reason.

"Gale… What happened to your arm?"

He finally looked down and his mouth formed a huge 'o'.

He turned so Katniss could see. A huge cut ran from under his elbow to half way down his fore-arm.

"How does that happen without you noticing?"

"I guess in the moment I was just focusing on getting out of there."

"Is it from the knife?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Look, I'm sorry about before-" Katniss began.

"No, save it."

"No, no. Let me finish. I'm sorry that I went against what everyone else said and you had to save my butt again. I should have listened, and it's my fault you have that huge cut on your arm…"

"Honestly, Katniss, it's fine. If we listened to me, we wouldn't even have this pack, and we would be running in the opposite direction of the other lake."

"Wait, what do you mean-?"

"Have you not noticed? The ground is damp."

"Which means that there must be water near!"

Katniss was so excited she was almost shaking.

They followed the mud and the wet forest floor and eventually came across a lake, with a little cove covered by a huge rock. Katniss and Gale dove their hands and faces in. They didn't drink anything, but they filled the canteen to the brink then added the iodine drops. They could wait half an hour.

An hour later, after finishing their second canteen full of water together, they were feeling kind of hungry and decided to set up snares, which they would check later or in the morning.

It was getting dark so they needed somewhere to sleep that was safe. Eventually they found a bush that could cover both of them, and was near the lake. Also, it was dense, so rustling would alert them if anyone was looking before they were actually caught.

When Katniss pointed this out though, Gale wondered, "shouldn't we have like a watch-duty set up? So one of us watches for intruders while the other sleeps?"

Katniss felt so stupid, why hadn't she thought of that? Gale offered to take the first shift, so

Katniss curled into a ball, ignoring the branches poking into her back, and wondered how she'd survived the first day.

When the death counts were announced, ten in total had been killed. None of the Careers.

_We still have quite a way to go in this competition if we want to win. _


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Gale woke Katniss about 4 hours after the deaths announcement and after she was awake enough, she went out on watch. She circled around the bush where Gale was, keeping an eye out for any movement. She had the knife poised and ready to strike.

Katniss thought she heard some leaves rustle. _Just the wind_, Katniss thought to herself.

She heard twigs snap, more clearly this time. _Okay, that was not just the wind. _

She scanned around to see if there were any objects standing out. There was, and Katniss noticed it did look very human-like.

Katniss approached, but when she did she heard a gasp, and the unmistakeable sound of footsteps pounding, getting quieter and quieter until Katniss couldn't hear them. Whoever it was had gone, and Katniss thought there was no need to chase them, they sounded just as frightened as she was.

However, calming herself down was another thing. Her heart had been beating faster, she was breathing more often and sweat was dripping from her forehead. And she hadn't even really realised how close she could have come to death. If that person was a Career and not just a frightened teenager, she could have been dead before she even realised it was a person that she heard.

Gale woke up a couple of hours later, he hadn't had as much sleep as Katniss had, but he seemed more energetic and ready.

They went to check the snares and found they had caught a rabbit. It was only small, about enough to last them for a day, so they reset the snare and found a concealed place to light a fire. She butchered the rabbit, she'd been taught by her dad, and then again by Gale, so she knew the process pretty well. She cut out all the parts they wouldn't be eating, and chucked them into a bush.

It was day-time, so fire wouldn't be as obvious as at night, but there was still the threat of smoke. Katniss offered to light the fire, but her aim wasn't to create a full-blown fire, like she had been taught in training, but to heat up the wood enough to cook her meat. Whether it would work was a question mark, because she'd never actually tried it.

After a while the wood was hot, but there were still flames, so the risk of someone seeing the smoke was high. When she'd finished cooking the rabbit, she and Gale stamped out the fire quickly, to make sure that no one would see it, even if they were leaving the area.

They walked through the woods a few hundred metres, and then decided it was finally time to break apart the rabbit and eat it; they were both pretty hungry by this point.

Katniss was chewing her food, and then wiping her hands on her pants: very ladylike. She could almost hear Effie Trinket tutting at her.

"Can you hear that?" Gale asked.

For a moment Katniss thought Gale could also hear the Effie in her mind, but when she focussed her hearing, she could hear a crackling sound. She and Gale turned around together.

Both their eyes widened as they saw the trees covered in flames, heading towards them. As one tree came alight, the next one caught a spark and came alight too. Katniss and Gale didn't need an invitation: they took off running. Katniss grabbed the bag quickly, as an afterthought.

They ran and ran for ages, yet the fire didn't seem to be ceasing. One minute, they were way ahead of the fire, the next minute the fire was almost at their ankles. Katniss saw no way out of this, she was going to die. _The Girl on Fire_. _The audience will get a real kick out of that one. _

A fireball launched above their heads, and hit the grass in front of them, which caught alight.

"Left! Go left!" Gale shouted.

They swung to the left and ran, both were running adjacent to the fire, the smoke getting caught in their lungs, making them cough, choke, but they couldn't stop running. They weren't going to surrender their lives so easily.

How would they escape this? They were surrounded by foliage, all flammable, there was nowhere near they could possible escape from it… _The lake! _

"Gale, Gale, the lake!"

By Katniss' estimations, they were running in the rough direction of it. Gale thought so too, because as he briefly mentioned, the ground wasn't burning as easily where they were.

Katniss kept scanning to see how close the fire was, and it was approaching, but it was slowly getting further and further behind them. The lake was up ahead, she could see the rocky cove above all the dense bush.

Katniss and Gale picked up their speed one last time, and then when they finally reached the lake, they dived in. With no way the fire could get them now, they swam over to the cove, nowhere near any bushes or trees. The smoke was blowing directly upwards, not towards them, thankfully. From where they were, they were pretty untouched by the fire.

They both watched the fire burning. _If it wasn't so deadly it would be almost beautiful. _

It was getting dark. Katniss didn't know if the Arena was running on normal time or not, but the day seemed to be shorter than a normal one.

"Katniss, same as last night, I'll watch first, you sleep."

Katniss yawned, agreed and thanked him, going to the other side to lie down, taking a gulp of the water, but saving some for Gale. She used the bag as a makeshift pillow, and after twenty or so minutes, she was fast asleep.

Gale woke her up when the moon was directly above them.

It was a full moon, so she could still see everything pretty clearly. She expected to see the fire still burning or at least the burnt remains after the fire.

It looked exactly the same as it had been before the fire, nothing disturbed.

"So it wasn't us who lit the fire."

"No, because forest fire doesn't naturally put itself out, it especially doesn't leave everything the way it was before."

_How have the Capitol already got it in for me? The Game has only just begun! _


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven **

Gale and Katniss decided to enter the woods again, to check if their snares were still there and to try their luck with hunting. After finding some berries and another rabbit caught in their snares, they decided to check where they had been the other night, to see if there was food there also.

What they found was a lot worse. They heard screaming, coming from a tree. Below the tree were the Careers.

Katniss looked up; it was Rue, the girl from District Eleven.

The Careers were too focussed on Rue to notice Gale and Katniss, so they ducked into a nearby bush, barely breathing, not wanting to make any sound.

Glimmer, the girl from District One, was holding a bow. _My bow! _She was firing shots towards Rue at random, and so far had gotten close, but missed Rue at least 4 times. The arrows were stuck in the tree trunk and branches.

Glimmer only had 8 left, and Katniss could tell she was hesitant to use them.

"Guys, she's not worth it. We can just wait her out," Glimmer suggested.

"Hey I have matches, why don't we set fire to the tree?" The boy from Two suggested. Cato, Katniss thought his name was. Rue whimpered in the tree, clearly terrified.

"We have to do something," Katniss whispered to Gale.

"I know, but what?" He asked, equally as quiet. "They have a better weapon than we do. And they outnumber us 4 to 2."

Katniss heard a buzzing sound, coming from above her head. She looked up, and there were small insects flying above her head.

"Tracker Jackers," Katniss breathed.

"What?"

"There are Tracker Jackers!" Katniss whispered, elated.

"How does that help us?"

Katniss ignored his question. "Where's their hive?"

They both looked around for a second, but then Katniss followed the trail of them in the sky. They were all flying towards the tree Rue was in. In fact, the hive was almost next to Rue. Looking closer, she could see Rue focussing her gaze on it. _Does she have a weapon? Can she cut the branch it's on? _

As it turns out, she didn't need to. Glimmer thought it was necessary to shoot one final arrow before they went to Plan B. It was lucky for Rue she did, because it hit the hive, irritating all the Trackers.

They all zoomed out of the hive, flying aimlessly looking for a target. Katniss was holding her breath, convinced they were going to get Rue, but the four people on the ground were easier to spot than Rue.

Rue, noticing all the commotion she caused on the ground, must have decided to add more. She took one deep breath, and kicked the hive, knocking it from the branch and sending it crashing down to the forest floor. If any of the Trackers stung her, it wasn't obvious. Most of them would have flown out when the hive was irritated.

The screams coming from the Careers were haunting, and Katniss' ears were still ringing long after they'd run off.

They all ran in different directions, but none noticed Katniss or Gale. The Trackers were in pursuit, and the few that were left were flying away, probably to another hive or to another tree.

Katniss and Gale came out of their hiding spot.

"It's okay, Rue, we're not going to hurt you."

"You're not?" Rue questioned. Katniss barely picked it up, the tree was high and Rue's voice was soft.

"You can come down; we have some food you can eat." Gale's voice was kinder and Katniss could see Rue start to waver.

Rue started to climb down, and was choosing her footing very carefully. She was starting to climb down the main trunk when a Tracker Jacker landed on her face. Knowing the consequences for getting stung by one, she let go with one hand and smacked the cheek where it landed. She killed the Tracker, but she also lost her grip and started to fall.

"No!" Katniss screamed.

Gale stepped forward, holding out his hands, moving himself into position. It didn't look like he was going to get there in time. Somehow though, he had a burst of energy and got there, catching Rue in his outstretched arms.

She would have bruises to her back, with the force that she hit Gale's arms, and she would probably have a killer headache, but she was alive.

_That's all that matters. _


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Not long after helping Rue though, did they hear a scream.

"Stay here," Katniss whispered to Gale and Rue, and walked off in the direction of the scream, knife poised to strike.

There was another piercing scream, and Katniss suspected from a female. She kept going, and eventually found Glimmer writhing on the ground, her skin covered in huge lumps.

Her bow- _Katniss' _bow- was lying on the ground next to her; clearly she'd dropped it when she'd fallen over.

She was still breathing, but Katniss could tell that there was nothing she could do to save her. She was shaking violently, making moaning noises, like she was in immense pain.

Katniss walked over to where Glimmer was, and put her hand under her head, lifting up her head. Her head felt hot, and despite dying and being dangerous and all that, she looked… innocent, and very young.

_She may have been a lethal killer, but that's just how she was trained, how she was raised…_

Katniss sat with her like that, comforting her, watching as her spasms started to slow down, and her breathing became less frequent. Katniss was younger than this girl, but Glimmer was smaller, a few inches shorter and slightly bulkier, with all the training she'd done in her life.

Eventually, Glimmer stopped breathing completely, and Katniss heard the cannon sound. She gently placed Glimmer's head down onto the soft grass, and stood up, grabbing the bow and the few remaining arrows. She started walking off, and turned back one last time to look at her. "Rest easy," Katniss whispered.

_It doesn't matter whose it is, one life lost is one life too many…_

While she was walking back to Gale and Rue, she heard shouts. "Katniss! Katniss!"

"Yeah, I'm here!"

Katniss could roughly see their outline, so she headed in that direction.

Gale ran up to her, taking her in a huge hug.

"Woah, woah, what's going on…?"

"We heard the cannon!" He shouted. "We thought you died!"

"Relax," she said, taking him into another hug, "it wasn't me. It was Glimmer."

"Oh."

"I got my bow," she added, half-smiling.

Gale shook his head, wiping a small tear from his eye. "Idiot," he laughed.

Katniss and Gale lit a small fire to cook the meat they'd found that morning. While they were waiting for it to cook, they gave Rue some of the berries they'd picked.

"Hey Gale, I never saw the death count last night. How many are left?"

"There were ten dead the first night, and there were three last night, and Glimmer just died, so as long as my counting is okay, there are still about ten people."

Katniss couldn't believe she'd made it to the top ten. She hadn't expected to get half that far.

When the meat was cooked, they all sat around discussing their next point of call.

"We're at that point in the competition where we have to stop hiding and do something. We can't win if we just hide." Gale said.

"We can't _all _win anyway." Katniss pointed out.

Rue seemed like she was about to speak, but every time she was about to, Gale or Katniss interrupted. Finally, they realised what they were doing, and encouraged her to speak.

"The Careers have-" Rue began. She stopped though, completely zoning out.

"The Careers have what, Rue?" Katniss asked, placing her hand on Rue's back.

"They have this setup. They have all these food and weapons, but there's like dug up dirt everywhere… like they've done something to the ground around it… The boy from Four is guarding it, they leave him there when they go after people. I accidentally wandered into it looking for food, I tried to retreat without them noticing, but they saw me… I ran up that tree when I reached it."

"Where's this setup?" Gale asked.

"Near the Cornucopia."

Rue was fast asleep next to the now-burnt fire, under the tree they'd saved her in.

"So how many cannons did you hear go off?" Katniss asked.

"Just the one."

"Glimmer's."

"Yeah."

"This means three of the Careers are still alive, and they have enough food and weapons to last them for ages."

"Yeah but they must be pretty out of it. I'm pretty sure all of them got stung, and Glimmer died from it. They can't have recovered like that," Gale said, clicking his fingers to make the point.

"So while they're out of action, you think we should go do something about their setup?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"What do we do with Rue though?"

"We put her somewhere safe, somewhere we can go back to when we're out of immediate danger."

"Sounds like a plan." Katniss yawned. "I'm tired; could you please take first watch?"

"Of course," Gale replied.

Katniss went to lie down next to where Rue was sleeping, Gale woke Katniss up at about midnight, and Rue was still fast asleep, snoring, and completely oblivious to the movement around her.

Gale fell asleep almost straight away, and Katniss went to lean against the tree. Her legs felt tired for some reason, so she quickly surveyed the area, and then sat down. She rested her head against the tree. Next thing she knew, Gale was shaking her awake.

"Hmm, what?" Realisation dawned on her. "Oh God! I fell asleep, Gale I'm so sorry!"

"That's not important. Did you see Rue leave?"

"What?"

"Rue's gone."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Katniss jumped up. "Was there a cannon?"

"No, and there was no blood near where she slept. I think she left voluntarily."

Katniss grabbed the bag that was now at her feet, and ruffled through it. "She grabbed some of the food," Katniss showed him, annoyed.

"She needs to eat…"

"That's not what's irritating me. It's the fact I didn't even notice! The bag was right next to me Gale! If she could grab stuff out of it and go through it without me waking, who knows what else could have happened without me realising!"

"I wonder what happened to her…"

"Me too! But if she left of her own accord, I don't think we should go after her. She obviously has her reasons."

"What if she ends up getting killed?"

"Gale, I don't like it any more than you do! But we can't keep everyone alive in this competition! There are ten people left Gale: only one of them can win."

Katniss and Gale decided to wait until midday to see if Rue would show up. Katniss wasn't really expecting her to; she'd made her exit too secretive for that.

_Why had she left in the first place?_

They had food for her, protection; she could have lived for longer with them.

_She's not dead, _Katniss reminded herself.

Eventually, when the sun was in the centre of the sky and there was no sign of Rue, they decided to move out.

"The Careers might be back in action soon, what do you reckon we do?"

"Check out their setup," Katniss replied.

Katniss and Gale headed in the direction of the Cornucopia. There was no sign of the Careers, but Katniss knew that didn't mean they weren't there.

When they finally reached the clearing, Katniss saw immediately what Rue had been talking about. A pile of crates of food and weapons were stacked way higher than Gale's head, around it was a ring of dirt, like it had just been dug up.

_A moat maybe? _

It couldn't be; they would know that wouldn't stop anyone.

_So what is it then? _

The boy from four was there, looking around the area, not seeing Katniss or Gale. _What a great watch_.

Katniss saw something move on the side of the Cornucopia, the boy hadn't seen it, but Katniss had, and she pointed it out to Gale.

"That's the girl from Five!" Gale whispered.

She ran across the Cornucopia, fast, at a fox's pace. She stepped in certain spots, almost like a dance, avoiding the clumps of dirt. She continued like this until she got to the centre of the pyramid, where she grabbed a few handfuls of food, ate it, then grabbed some more and ran out with it, the same way she came.

"The bombs," Gale whispered.

"What?"

"The bombs, from before the Games started."

"They dug them up? How'd they do that without killing themselves?"

"Well the bombs are deactivated when the game starts; they must have rewired them to work after the set them down again."

"So what should we do?" Katniss asked.

"We should blow it up. Use your bow."

"What shoot the ground?"

"No… uh, see that sack of apples? Break it, they'll fall and hopefully set off the bomb."

Katniss pulled her bow out and one of the arrows. She couldn't kneel down anymore; she had to stand up for this.

She positioned the arrow, trying to keep her breathing steady.

Once it was in place with the string pulled all she had to do was let go. This is exactly what she did.

The arrow seemed to take ages to reach the bag, and when it finally did, it sliced straight through it, the apples tumbling out.

When one finally reached the ground, it didn't detonate straight away.

Katniss saw a figure approaching the pile. "RUE!" Katniss screamed.

It was too late, the bombs went off. One bomb caused a chain reaction which set off the next one, all 24 of them blowing up within 15 seconds. Katniss and Gale were thrown back by the explosion.

Amongst all the commotion, Katniss hadn't heard the cannon. She hadn't needed to. There was no way Rue could have survived that.

"I killed her."

"No you didn't."

Katniss started sobbing. "I killed her Gale! I killed her! A 12 year old girl, dead, because of me! I should have surveyed, I should have checked! The boy from 4 is probably dead too! And if he isn't the Careers will kill him!" Gale took her in his arms. "She's dead! It's my fault_! My fault_."

Gale patted her on the head, nothing he could do.

_All my fault_.


End file.
